Team

Office Ou is an architecture and landscape design office centered around the values of collaboration, social impact and environmental sustainability. With backgrounds in both architecture and landscape design, we see buildings as emerging out of their natural and cultural context. We believe that sustainability is a question of living at ease within one’s environment, and that a good design must inherently be a sustainable design.

Nicolas Koff, OAA

With a background in architecture, landscape architecture, and regional planning, Nico is always looking at our environments in a holistic way to create sustainable and socially impactful projects. Nico was designer and project manager for K-House, which gained acclaim as the first electricity net zero straw bale house in Hamilton, Canada.

Prior to co-founding Office Ou, Nico worked in some of the world's most innovative design firms, including MAD in Beijing, Ateliers Jean Nouvel in Paris, Zeidler in Toronto, and Field Operations in New York on the winning entry for the Qianhai Water City competition. Nico is a lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design, and is currently working on a book studying new typologies of productive urban landscapes and their cultural roots. Nico was previously research associate at the University of Pennsylvania working on the creation of a cross-disciplinary course on environmental sustainability.

Nico is also co-founder of Projexity, a tech company that creates online engagement tools for social impact companies; current clients include the David Suzuki Foundation, Evergreen, United Way and the City of Toronto.

Uros Novakovic

Uros is an accomplished designer and researcher with experience on projects ranging from large urban-scale master plans to small residential renovations. He is particularly interested in studying the relationship between architectural practice and ideology, with a research focus on aesthetic implications within the philosophy of Slavoj Žižek.

Prior to co-founding Office Ou, Uros has worked for several sustainability-focused design firms. These include A00 Architecture in Shanghai, a practice pioneering the use contemporary rammed earth construction, Kiss + Cathcart in New York, where he worked on the first LEED certified subsidized housing project in New York City. Most notably, while with D.A. Dizajnarhitektura in Belgrade, Uros was the lead designer for a new Faculty of Biology building at University of Belgrade. He has also worked at RMJM in Edinburgh, as well as Wallman Architects, Zeidler Partnership Architects, and Kohn Partnership Architects in Toronto.

Together with Nicolas, Uros is working on an upcoming book on Productive Urban Landscapes to be published by Routledge. In addition to his work in design fields, Uros has co-authored scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals in the field of global public health.

M. Arch, University of Waterloo (2013)Hon. B.A.S. University of Waterloo (2008)

Sebastian Bartnicki, OAA

Sebastian brings a highly detailed, rigorous approach to project design and delivery, with a particular aptitude for pragmatic yet elegant detailing. Through a strong understanding of all stages of project development, he ensures that a project’s vision is faithfully carried through to completion. He is particularly skilled in architectural visualization and building information modeling, helping clients and builders to fully understand and participate in the design process.

Prior to co-founding Office Ou, Sebastian carried out several educational, justice, and office fit-out projects at NGA Architects in Toronto. Most recently, he led the project teams for St. Catharines Provincial Offences Courthouse, and Welland Provincial Offences Courthouse (both LEED silver projects), gaining considerable experience in programming buildings with complex functional and security requirements. Sebastian also worked at KPMB Architects between his undergraduate and masters degrees, where he was involved in an exceptionally complex executive office fit-out for a financial investment company in New York City, as well and construction administration for the Mike and Ophilia Lazeridis Quantum-Nano Centre at the University of Waterloo, a laboratory for cutting-edge research. Sebastian has also worked at HLW and Azman Architects in London, England, and Arquitectonica in New York City.

M. Arch, McGill University (2010)Hon. B.A.S. University of Waterloo (2008)